Ikea Etobicoke – Customer Service

I have loved Ikea for many years.

I loved their furniture with modern designs, their prices, and the store layout where they showed you room after room of possibilities and ideas. I loved the ball-room where you could drop off your children so that you could shop unencumbered and the fact that change rooms had diaper stations – before anyone in Toronto ever thought about that. Trolleys were plentiful for self-serve, employees were friendly. Parking was designed for easy furniture pick up. The restaurant had wonderful Swedish sandwiches. Everything at Ikea smacked of organization, order and detailed attentiveness to all the customer needs. I marveled at their customer service. Returns were easy to do and if you had to wait – you could sit comfortably, looking at their catalog. Over the years, I bought products, first at their Don Mills store and then in Etobicoke. I even shopped at Ikea when working in China for a year.

Yes I have loved Ikea for a long time.

So with my last major purchase, I was completely caught off guard by the events that unfolded.I bought a new bed and mattress from Ikea. This purchase had been preceded by a trip to the Etobicoke Store, where I found a helpful employee who showed me my options. All was good. I explained that I was moving, she showed me their Home Delivery Service brochure that explained they could deliver for around $69.00 but could not guarantee when the delivery would take place. This was an issue for me because I would need to reserve an elevator and the timing did not match. But I pointed out that I could pick it up the day of the move with the U-Haul moving truck. She told me this would work, that after purchase they would store it free of charge for up to 10 days – I was to ignore the brochure that said 7 days. So this became the plan.

As the time approached to make the purchase, I tried to phone the store to confirm the free storage up to 10 days (since the printed brochure said 7 days) and to enquire about where pick up could happen at the store with my small truck. Thus the first problem occurred. I could not speak to the store directly, I needed to talk to the Call Centre in Montreal. There were a number of conversations that then happened. The outcome was that the free storage service was only offered to customers who paid for the delivery service. Since I was not paying for delivery I could not store the product. This was not what I had been told. Now I was very annoyed. Seriously Ikea – what was happening here?

So I explained that this was not the right answer, not what I had been told and I needed to speak to a manager. I am immediately transferred to the Intervention Manager ( interesting title choice and rather ominous). Andrea came on the line, bright, energetic, empathetic and competent. She took at the details, waived all the issues about the storage fee, but told me that instead of picking it up at the Etobicoke store, I would pick it up at Ikea’s 3^rd party warehouse/delivery company. She took my furniture order on the phone. I would need to go to the store, pick up the furniture ( there was a $30 fee if I wanted them to do it) and then take it to Shipping who would look over it from there. All of which I did and I am very pleased to report that the process worked and I was not charged a storage fee. I picked up my furniture without any problems. But the story wasn’t over.

So I know you are saying – what’s the problem – didn’t they fix everything up for you? But it’s the next installment of the saga is what rankles.

I had no intention of putting together the Ikea bed myself and it together by end of day so that I had somewhere to sleep that night. The mover I engaged had a good reputation for Ikea assembly work – so I thought it might be easier to have him do the work than try to add another person from Ikea into the moving process. As it turned out the individual from the moving company was not experienced in Ikea assembly. At 11:30 that night, we had to call off the assembly.

I telephoned Ikea the next morning to get an Ikea assembler. I was told that the third party company that Ikea used for this would not take on the job of fixing a problem installation. WHAT ?????? Really Ikea, you don’t stand behind your products? Further to that you don’t tell your customers or warn them the perils they face if they have problem installations. You just drop us like hot potatoes, take our money and run. Are you kidding me?

And this is where my love affair with Ikea ended.

Andrea my Intervention Manager could have been called again and maybe things might have been fixed. As it turned out, my mover stepped up and made the situation right (a good news story to be told in my next blog). But the damage had already been done between Ikea and me.

Now, I do not trust Ikea. And where in the past, I would have immediately gone there when I needed something, I am now more circumspect, looking at other options first. My trust has been broken.

So here’s the thing – Ikea Etobicoke management I am talking to you now. I am a services marketing professional with many years in services. You have some issues that you need to fix. You have a strong tradition of customer- centered management. So I have got to believe it is still there. BUT your execution is not up to snuff. Here is some free advice:

Is the Call Centre really necessary – I get the efficiencies but is it worth it to alienate your customers who have no way of contacting the store directly?
Train your people, the sales rep clearly did not understand your storage policy, nor did your Call Centre.
Print the right brochures – notice the number of days of free storage kept changing with every conversation
What is your policy when customers can’t assemble your products? If problems occur do you really absolve yourself of that responsibility?

Ikea – Etobicoke I suspect your growth is outstripping your ability to deliver. It’s time to take stock of your customer service and make it right.